Rubio: NATO to rethink. The US will not be able to handle Europe and the Indo-Pacific at the same time

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed the Senate on Wednesday about the start of “technical talks” with representatives of Denmark and Greenland regarding the agreement regarding the island. He also called for a rethink of NATO, suggesting that the US does not have enough resources to devote equal attention to Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

Rubio addressed the Greenland talks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Venezuela. The Secretary of State assured that a good agreement would be reached regarding the island and that things were “in a good place”.

– Indeed, even as I speak to you now, there will be some technical meetings between us and our partners in Greenland and Denmark on this matter. I think we have a process that will lead us to a win-win outcome. The president's interest in Greenland is obvious, Rubio said.

– We will start this process in a very professional and direct way. It will start today and will be a regular process. We will try to do this in a way that does not resemble a media circus every time such talks take place, because we believe that this gives both sides more flexibility to pursue a positive outcome, he added.

The head of diplomacy did not reveal details about what the talks were about and what the United States' goal was, but he recalled that President Donald Trump had ruled out using force to acquire Greenland. From Trump's statements and reports, among others: Bloomberg and the New York Times show that the “framework for the future agreement” announced by him includes increasing NATO's involvement in Arctic security, access to mineral deposits and perhaps the US acquiring land on which military bases will be built.

During the hearing, Rubio also defended himself against criticism from Democrats who condemned the Trump administration's rhetoric and actions towards NATO allies. The commission's deputy head, Jeanne Shaheen, accused the administration of “pushing allies into China's arms” because they do not consider the US to be a reliable partner and that this actually constitutes “unilateral disarmament” in the competition with the PRC.

Rubio said NATO needs to be “rethought” because of the imbalance in power between the U.S. and other allies. Referring to the security guarantees to be provided to Ukraine, he noted that although “a handful of soldiers from Great Britain and France” would be included in them, in fact they would be based on the American guarantee of coming to the aid of these forces.

– The reason for this is that European partners did not invest enough in their defense – he noted.

He suggested that the US does not have enough resources to devote equal attention to Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

– We cannot have the same soldiers and ships in Europe and the Pacific. We have to make a choice. No matter how many ships we build, no matter how much we develop our capabilities, we will have to make these adjustments. The stronger our NATO partners are, the more flexibility the United States will have to secure our interests in different parts of the world, he said.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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